Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

Recently I was invited to enter a recipe challenge sponsored by the folks at Walkers Shortbread. And, since shortbread is my favorite kind of cookie, I was pretty
excited about it. To jump start our creativity, Walkers sent each of
the entrants a sample box with many of their flavors including some that
I'd never seen before. Chocolate and vanilla and lemon and orange and
ginger...oh, my... So Brian and I sat down to sample all the flavors. Some we had to sample several times due to...um...complex scientific
research needs. And while we were stuffing our faces with shortbread scientifically researching, my mind was racing with all the possible recipe options.

In the end, Brian's favorite was the Quadruple Chocolate Chunk Biscuits
while I tend to be a Pure Butter Vanilla Shortbread girl. But what
flavor to pair with the shortbread? Hmm...how about my very favorite,
most beloved flavor...peanut butter! Chocolate and peanut butter
together? Of course. But I wasn't trying to create a peanut butter cup
nor had I ever been a fan of the silky smooth textures of peanut butter
pies. Something about all that sameness gets a little tiring. No, I
wanted to make something with texture and crunch. Something sweet and
salty and a little over the top because, after all, it is a recipe
challenge.

So I made my first recipe test and both of us fretted over the
incredibly rich dessert that was being created. We agreed that we would
taste it to check the recipe and then give it away to the neighbors. Hahahahaha. The first version was quite good and only needed some minor
tweaks. The following weekend we were invited to a party so it seemed
the perfect opportunity to make the new version and bring it to the
party. The new version was perfect. Did we bring it to the party? Hahahahaha.

Seriously, though, this may not be an every day treat but when the
occasion calls for a luscious, lip smacking, finger licking, just one
more bite because it's that good dessert, this wins our vote by a
landslide. Now I just have to find an excuse to make it again... Enjoy!

Although there are a number of steps to make this cake, I actually broke
down the method using a food processor without having to wash the bowl
in between the steps.

Step 1: Add the peanuts to the bowl of the food processor and pulse
until they are coarsely chopped. Place the chopped nuts in a small bowl
and set aside.

Step 2: Tap out any remaining nut pieces from the bowl but don't worry
if there are some bits left. Make the crumb topping by combining the
flour, sugar, salt and cocoa powder in the work
bowl. Pour in the melted butter and pulse until the mixture resembles
course crumbs. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with
parchment paper and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes,
stir the mixture and return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Step 3: While the chocolate crumb topping is baking, tap out any
remaining crumbs from the food processor bowl but don't worry if there
are some bits left. Make the crust by adding the chocolate and vanilla
cookies to the work bowl and pulsing until they are completely broken
down into crumbs. Add the tablespoon of peanut butter and continue
pureeing until the crumbs come together to form a paste. This will take
a few minutes so be patient.

Place the paste into a 9" pie plate, 10" spring-form pan lined with
parchment paper or 9" square baking pan. Using your knuckles or the
back of a spoon, spread the paste out to cover the pan. Sprinkle the
chopped peanuts over the crust and refrigerate.

Step 4: Tap out any remaining crumbs from the food processor bowl but
don't worry if there are some bits left. Make the filling by adding the
cream cheese, sugar and vanilla to the bowl and processing until
completely combined and smooth. Add the peanut butter and pulse until
combined. Add the whipped topping and pulse until combined. Add the
peanut butter chips and pulse once or twice just to distribute the chips
into the batter.

Step 5: Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust and spread out
evenly. Sprinkle the chocolate crumbs over the top and refrigerate for
about an hour to set the mixture. Remove the cake from the refrigerator
approximately 15 minutes before serving. Makes about 10 servings.

Step 6: Try not to trip over dog who has smelled the peanut butter and parked herself an inch from your feet.

Are you kidding me?!?!? Someone sent you boxes and boxes of lucious Walker's Shortbread? You have some really good karma stored up, huh? These are my all time favorite cookies!! Then you make it into Cheesecake. So - I want to make sure you win. you better win because I'm a subject matter expert on this!

Ohhhh Anita! I absolutely adore shortbread! And your recipe looks completely addicting. I'd have to send the whole thing off immediately after making it or else I'd get myself into some serious crunch cake trouble!! :) Great dessert to take to a holiday dinner!

Oh my! I have my work cut out for me Anita! This is amazing, AH-MA-ZING!!! Seriously, awesome. And yeah, while my heart will always belong to the butter shortbreads those chocolate biscuits are to die for.

Anita, you must have been thinking of me when you made this! I love that you used both the Chocolate chunk and the vanilla wafers in the crust. I don't blame you for keeping this cake all to yourselves and if you'r still looking for another occasion to make this, how about just making it and sending it my way, for research purposes, you know ;-)

Oh my goodness!!! How did I miss this first time around?? I adore that shortbread... I have to buy a package for my recipe and another for me to nibble on. I think this has to be one of the best recipes I've seen all season... fabulous!!